


Forgotten Places, Forgotten Times

by splatted_lisianthus



Series: Hollow Knight AU (HLVRAI) [1]
Category: Half-Life VR but the AI is Self-Aware - Fandom
Genre: and benreys questionable, and bugs., gordons a vessel, hollow knight au babye.., i dont think i need to elaborate further, not a vessel but not a normal bug, tommy is a bee and bubbys from deepnest, welcome to funky bugville we have soda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:53:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/splatted_lisianthus/pseuds/splatted_lisianthus
Summary: An amnesiac bug searching for something is drawn to a single kingdom.
Series: Hollow Knight AU (HLVRAI) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858141
Comments: 9
Kudos: 28





	1. falling entrances

**Author's Note:**

> yo shoutout to my friend moo aka king chase aka @chirpy-chase on tumblr they came up with the title!!  
> my main tumblr is @splatted-lisianthus if you want to tag me in anything for this. enjoy the fic! <3  
> also the designs 4 the cast will be up on my main. eventually. i promise. ill post them alongside the fic chapter update posts.

Wind is a strong force. Pushes, causes storms, defeats those that are weak. Kingdoms are usually safe from the winds, but traversing between them, on the wastes of above, in cliffs...

They blow, dust and ash alike, a desert of corpses for those too weak.

The bug stumbled, weary from travelling, using his nail to support himself. He narrowed his gaze, mind clouded but pushing him onwards.

Gordon pushed himself through the wind and the dust, paying no mind to the Vengeflies around him. They buzzed curiously at the strange bug, but did nothing.

He lifted his head to stare at the lampposts as he walked, pausing and reaching out to one. The trapped Lumaflies... he could care less, but he nonetheless felt concerned.

"So different from me..." He grabbed his nail tighter around the handle, then spun it and stabbed quickly at the orb. The Lumaflies inside buzzed then scattered, and the bug seemed to smile.

"There we go. Show that I've been here." He turns his head, looking down the path. It dropped, a sudden cliff, up ahead. "...wyrm bless me, I don't know if I'm appreciative of this or not. 'Jump off a cliff, Gordon,' says the world to me! 'There's probably a kingdom down there!'"

He paused, putting his nail back on his back. "And now I'm just. Insanely rambling to myself. Here comes the amnesiac, can't even remember his childhood or parents, rambling about wyrm knows what!" He makes a chuffing sound and follows the path further.

Gordon stops himself at the edge, staring over the edge. Looking into a distance. He could see a small town, lit so faintly from this height.

"Look at that." He chuffs again, softer. "There  _ is _ a kingdom beyond the cliff. But it's left up to me to make the leap." He reaches for the handle of his nail for a second, pausing, then lowering his arm. 

He crouches down at the edge of the path, tugging his cloak slightly closer around him, before taking a deep breath.

And leaping.

...

With a thud, and a grunt of minor pain from the bug's part- he was surprisingly not very hurt by the harsh fall- he was... not exactly in the kingdom yet. It was a grand hallway, sure, it felt like a kingdom... but it was just that. A hallway.

"What in the name of Nightmare...?" He murmured, standing himself upright and walking forwards.

The hallway was empty of life- decorated, yet uncared for. Years and years had to have passed with no one coming through here. There only rested one tablet and a large, closed, and fragile-looking stone door.

Curiosity killed the centipede, but it wouldn't kill Gordon. He approached the dusty tablet, wiping it clean with one hand as the words began to glow softly.

Despite the thing being so worn with age, it was very easily legible- that wasn't all too surprising, but after so long walking in that windy hell, it definitely took Gordon by surprise as he read it.

_ Higher beings, these words are for you alone. _

_ Beyond this point you enter the land of King and Creator. Step across this threshold and obey our laws. _

_ Bear witness to the last and only civilization, the eternal Kingdom. _

_ Hallownest _

"...Hallownest." He found himself saying it out loud as he drew his nail and turned to the door. It felt so familiar on his tongue, but so foreign at the same time.

"Higher beings, King and Creator. That- whole everything on that made no sense. But...  _ Hallownest... _ "

Enough rambling to himself. He approached the grand door and slashed as hard as he could. He heard it crumbling.

Slash. Large cracks snaked their way through the door.

Slash. The rubble clinked along the ground next to Gordon. He paid no mind.

Slash.

The door collapsed, the dust blasted outwards as the rubble settled, and Gordon stood unfazed by it.

Carefully, he picked his way over the pile of broken stone that could have guarded in a time long past, and leaped once more.


	2. meeting your wings

Gordon approached the quiet down whilst dragging his nail alongside him, prepared to fight if needed but more casual than anything. Other kingdoms weren’t usually hostile to arriving travelers, but some were, and he was better safe than dead.

The few houses looked abandoned, all the doors locked. The only sign of life was the strange cloaked and winged being sitting on the bench. It looked… peaceful enough, but he didn’t put the nail away yet.

"Hello?" Gordon yelled out as he approached, gripping his nail handle tighter as he approached. The being on the bench lifted their head, and seemed to almost perk up at seeing Gordon.

"oh- hey! i- i remember you. you came back. hey dude." The bug seemed to grin, their left eye shifting colors around in the slit.

"...came back?" Gordon hesitated, putting his nail away. “What do you-”

"yeah. you, uh- you came. left here. forever ago. right?" The winged bug seemed to slump a bit, like they weren’t even sure of what they were saying. “i- you didn’t see me, though, like this. in this mask-” 

They reached a claw out of their cloak to tap their mask lightly, feeling the crack on it with a finger. “-before you left. so you might not recognize- might, uh, not see any of here the same. it’s big different.”

"No, I- I just found here today, of course I wouldn’t recognize any of it- what in the name of Nightmare are you going on about?!"

The other bug paused for a minute, then pulled their claw back into the cloak. “huh?”

“What? Dude- listen- my name is Gordon and I'm just a traveler. I have no clue what you mean by 'came back' or whatever but this is my first time here."

"'s not but. you don't remember." They made a small chitter sound, more annoyance than anything, and a little bit of colorful mist slipped out. Amber to cherry.

"anyways. m'name is benrey. nice to meet you, gordon." They stood from the bench, approaching Gordon and holding a claw out. The other shook it quietly, seeming to narrow his gaze. The two stared at each other silently for a moment, before Gordon spoke up.

"There's a kingdom here, right? Like the sign up where the giant door was said there would be. It's not just this small town."

"oh- yeah. if you jump down the well, there's the crossroads. serves as a general middle point of the kingdom."

"Crossroads-? Who... named it? I mean, the name tells what it is pretty well, but that's. A boring name."

“don't ask me. all i know is that the bench is here and i was resting, and then- you being a wisebug showed up.”

Gordon just. Made a distressed chuffing sound, deep and more like a grunt. “I’m not acting like a wisebug- if anything, you’re the wisebug!”

“yeah. but, you- you show up out of nowhere like a traveler or whatever. and then you’re like ‘oh my name is gourd, i have never been here.’” 

“It’s _Gordon,_ and I haven’t ever been here. What in the name of wyrm are you even talking about anymore?” 

“...”

“...hello? Benrey?”

“huh?”

Gordon groaned loudly and slammed his hands onto his masked face. Enough of messing around with this. He lightly pushed Benrey away, then headed towards the well. Benrey made a little chirp sound of almost panic in response, rushing to follow and stop him.

"hey- you're- you're not actually. going through the kingdom. right?? you- you can’t. cause you don't have, uh. the right pass." They sounded like they were panicking, saying whatever just came to mind to try and stop him.

"Dude, this place looks _abandoned_ . You're the only living bug up here. The only other ones I saw were the Vengeflies and Lumaflies up on the cliffs. I don’t need a pass to get into an _abandoned kingdom_."

"but you still need a pass. to get into the kingdom proper." Benrey's visible eye narrowed, looking more agitated. "if i'm the only living bug- i get to decree that. so i do."

"Well, I'll- find a pass while looking around the Crossroads. So you don't have to worry about that." Gordon tried to step around the shorter bug, but they just moved to block him more.

"you have to have it now. i need to follow you if you don't."

"For the love of wyrm- I don't care if you follow me? Just let me get in the kingdom." He reached for the nail as he stared down at Benrey.

Their wings fluttered up a little, the dark blue color catching Gordon's eye but not distracting him. He stared down at the bug until they finally gave in with a small chirp sound.

"alright. explore. i gotta- need to follow you though. no matter what." They muttered, before leaping down the well before the traveler could react.

He stared ahead of him, at the well. A third jump. Jesus, this place was full of large jumps. Gordon backed up a little then rushed forwards and leaped down the well, into the kingdom of Hallownest for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote this on the 31st bc i was shouted at to do so <3 so good job to the ones who bullied me into doing it  
> please follow my main at @splatted-lisianthus on tumblr for dumb little me updates, and @hkvr on tumblr for asking the characters and fic updates specifically. most recent fic updates will be pinned on the dedicated blog every time they come out  
> updates will be on either mondays or fridays. depends on when i find the will to write.


	3. traveling old crossroads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops!!! this would have been out on friday if i remembered to write lol sorry. they’re gradually getting longer as i write... ominous  
> remember to follow @hkvr on tumblr for updates on the fic and asking the characters!

The fall down the well was a much easier one than the cliff or the bridge, but still rough. Gordon nearly fell over from the landing, stumbling before he felt someone hold him steady.

"still can't stand properly, can you?" The other bug chittered softly, getting Gordon over to the signpost and letting him regain his bearings.

"I've been falling so much..." He groaned. "And I haven't gotten a chance to rest at all recently..."

"..." Benrey's pupil thinned, and they glanced away for a moment, then looked at Gordon again. "i- uh. i think there's a bench, somewhere down here."

When Gordon seemed to lift his head a little in curiosity, they continued. "there's a hot spring for certain. you- uh, can rest, and heal up if you're hurt, there."

"I don't see why a hot spring would help heal me- but. The bench is sounding nice." He makes a soft chuff, seeming to smile.

"they're magic. soul water."

"What?"

"soul water. helps, uh. healing." Benrey shrugged. "don't know."

Gordon stared at them for a minute, then just turned away and looked around. The air in the Crossroads was almost... dull. It smelled faintly of something wrong and unsettling, but it was just as forgotten as the rest of this land.

As he looked around, he noticed a few wandering beings, eyes barely lit behind their masks as they wandered like corpses.

"Hey, what's up with them?"

"uh- what?"

"Those guys. They're like- walking corpses." Gordon looked at the other bug. "You've heard about those parasite species, right? They're walking like those."

Benrey glanced over at the husk, shrugging in response to Gordon's question.

"i don't think those are in hallownest, so- haven't seen or heard of them."

"Huh." He reached for his nail, claws twitching slightly as he grabbed its handle. Quietly, he moved towards the masked bug.

He barely managed to approach before the faint pupils of the bug snapped upwards to stare at him then dilated, colorful fluid beginning to drip out as it made a horrible gasp-like yell.

There was hardly time to react for either bug, Benrey making startled chirps and Gordon chuffing angrily as he fumbled to wield his nail properly.

It took a single effective slash and the husk stumbled before collapsing. A faint, deep blue mist poured from the body that once again rested as a corpse. 

There was silence as Gordon backed away from the color-changing mist, then looked at Benrey, whose pupil was slit thin in fear and holding shades of lime green around the edges.

"That-" He points at the dead husk and the still-lingering mist with his nail. "That mist-? It looks like your eye." It was even changing colors like their eye, now tinted lime green around the edges.

"i- yeah, it is- but i didn't do that-!" They sounded panicked, gripping their cloak tight about them as the wings on their back rested closer to them.

"i know i'm- partly- uh-" They were tripping over their own words, glancing around rapidly. "part- part infected? part of whatever that is. but i- i don't- i'm not bad. i swear."

"I don't care that much- Benrey, calm down." Gordon spoke softly. "If you start acting out, I won't just kill you. Not like I did to that... corpse! I guess. Would it count as a corpse even when it was walking?" 

"...i think it would."

"Okay. But you're not a corpse, right?" They nodded, and he chuffed softly. "Then I don't need to kill you. Let's go." 

He turned and began heading along the path, climbing up some of the large natural rubble that had blocked the path partially over the time.

There were a few more husks along the path, but they weren't hard to kill. It was easy to notice that despite being reanimated and aggressive, they had very delayed reactions. 

If you were capable of defending yourself, they weren't difficult to fight. Benrey didn't seem to be capable- but Gordon was plenty able to fight. 

As the two of them walked, silent, they walked past a large building. Gordon stopped for a moment to look, and the other bug nearly continued, but stopped. 

"hey- what's, uh. why are you stopping?" 

Gordon didn't answer, staring at the massive temple. He felt like he  _ couldn't _ answer. He put his nail on his back, quietly approaching and entering the temple. Benrey made soft chitters, but followed regardless. 

The inside of the temple was... very barren. The only thing was a sealed black orb in the middle of the temple. He stared at it, approaching where the entrance would be if not sealed closed, placing a hand on it.

_ This place was familiar. Something here- purpose? He couldn't think clearly- that was the only... feeling? Idea. _

"gordon-?" Benrey spoke softly, hesitantly reaching a hand out, but not quite touching the other.

_ An idea. Just a faint idea, that was all it was. But it was all he had. He needed to cling to that idea- right? _

"gordon." Benrey placed his hand on the other bug's shoulder. When he still didn't respond or snap out of it, he shook as hard as he could.

"gordon. snap out of it.  _ now. _ "

"Wh- huh? What-?" He seemed to blink suddenly, looking at Benrey without turning his body. "Sorry. I think I might have, like- blacked out or something."

"no shit. you were wandering in here like one of those husks." They made a soft, worried sound, pulling their hand back under their cloak.

"Huh." He glanced back at the large orb, then towards the entrance of the temple. "I- literally cannot remember that. Sorry for scaring you."

"'s okay." Benrey made a small chirp, like a smile, a little bit of colored mist slipping out. Dark grey to a bright white. "you should, uh- we should get going."

"Yeah." He chuffed softly then left the temple. It might be best if he doesn't think about that place. About that... orb? Egg, maybe. For his own sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> local fool forgot to add the translation to the notes last chapter. but they're here now.  
> amber to cherry means you're now just an adversary.  
> dark grey to bright white means at least you're alright.


End file.
